I am not moving to Taiwan until I get my degree and CELTA a year from now, but if you are going to look for jobs from here you can check out, of course, the Job postings on Dave's site, or for a Taiwan specific site tealite.com you might also want to consider a recruiter, Forumosa.com has a lot of info about them, as well as individual schools if you dig.

That is what I have heard to, I am hoping its better next year when I am ready to go. Though, I have heard August is the best month, and most positions have been filled by now?

Let me ask you this: Are you finding NO jobs, or just no jobs with acceptable pay?

Not trying to make a point, just wondering? I certainly wouldn't want to take a subpar job that pays 500NT an hour either.

But, if what I hear is true (and I am by no means saying it is, because its all from other posters and not first hand experience) but if they have filled their winter/spring 2011 jobs, you might have to take one that had a teacher leave on them early. But if a teacher left on them early you also have to wonder why?

A lot of it is timing. I think that Dec/Jan is a bad time of the year to look for a job. I came in the summer and had zero problems finding work. I know other teachers who've come in January in previous years and spent months looking.

A lot of it is timing. I think that Dec/Jan is a bad time of the year to look for a job. I came in the summer and had zero problems finding work. I know other teachers who've come in January in previous years and spent months looking.

The best time is to come two weeks before the 2011 school year starts. That will probably be the last week in August. Furthermore some schools will scramble to find teacher teachers so just being present can sometimes get you the job for at least a semester. If parents are told that there will be a foreign teacher then the owner has no choice but to find one.

A lot of it is timing. I think that Dec/Jan is a bad time of the year to look for a job. I came in the summer and had zero problems finding work. I know other teachers who've come in January in previous years and spent months looking.

Agreed, I call December/January "The Dead Zone." There are almost no job postings on Kaohsiung Living during that time, and the few that are posted during that time are extremely high-competition and low pay. Like "oh boy, apply for this job and compete with ten other people for an illegal kindy position that pays 450 NTD an hour!"

I'd say that around Chinese New Year is a great time to look -- I landed my current gig right after CNY '10 (late February was when I found it, and I started working in March).

Rooster is correct. There will be nothing happening now until after the Chinese New Year.

Taiwanese are reactive, not proactive. They always wait until the last possible moment and then go into full-blown panic mode. They do the same with new hires. Even if they've known for two months they will need someone to start after Chinese New Year, they will wait until after Chinese New Year before they even think of lining one up.

Also, Taipei is not a good place to look for work. The majority of westerners land there, the competition is stiff, and laobans can afford to pick and choose.

I'd like to bring this thread back up from a year ago. It's an issue of concern because some posters on this thread have claimed that finding work December/January is a dead time and even struggle to find work a few months ensuing it, that the best time is August, yet some claim that after Chinese New Year is okay for finding employment. I've been planning to look for work in Taiwan this early January, which if I get the 60-day visa, will extend beyond Chinese New Year.

Should I go with the initial plans anyway or wait another half a year until August?

Chinese New Year next year is January 23, 2012. That means that you should probably arrive on January 15. Make sure you have a cell phone and start calling schools on January 16. That leaves you a week to apply for jobs that Taiwanese employers know will be vacated. Then nothing will happen from January 23 to 27. Then your best chance of winding a job starts January 30, when buxibans realize that I teacher has pulled a runner. If you don't have a job by Monday, February 6 then you will be facing an uphill battle. Most jobs will have been filled by then and few new jobs will be opening up.

Chinese New Year next year is January 23, 2012. That means that you should probably arrive on January 15. Make sure you have a cell phone and start calling schools on January 16.

That leaves you a week to apply for jobs that Taiwanese employers know will be vacated. Then nothing will happen from January 23 to 27. Then your best chance of winding a job starts January 30, when buxibans realize that I teacher has pulled a runner.

If you don't have a job by Monday, February 6 then you will be facing an uphill battle. Most jobs will have been filled by then and few new jobs will be opening up.

Good, general guideline to follow. I did the same thing and was lucky to have a job by the end of Chinese New Year. If you haven't found something into the first week of February, it gets progressively harder in terms of timing. Although some people I know were lucky and got jobs later in the year. But JZ'ers post above is a useful guideline for when the best time to apply is.